If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
T: Based on the title "soldier" I believed the poem would be about a soldier struggling through war.
P: If the soldier dies, know that his death was significant for his country. Where ever he dies during the war, that land symbolically belongs to his country. Where the land marks his grave, he marks the end of a life his country gave him, so as nature and life there continues, his thankfulness for his life shall also continue. He is giving back the life his country gave him, content to die for his countrys future. And the great things his coutnry gave/taught him, he happily gives back in his countrys honor. And even know evering the afterlife, he thinks only of his thankfulness fro his country.
C:personification: "Gives somewhere back the thoughts by england given." His country (England) doesnt literally give him thoughts, it's only his love and cherishment of his country that gave him such thankful, noble thoughts.
imagery: "There shall be, in that rich earth a richer dust concealed: a dust whom england bore, shaped, made aware, gave once, who flowers to love" Helps me imagine a lonely feild where healthy earth lands, and is being shaped, symbolizes his love that his country shaped within him.
A: I think the attitude of the poem is somber yet thankful. While death is always sad, he is still thankful for the life that he had in his country and all of the things he loves He is proud to die for his love (his country) and feels that his death is honorable.
S: Between stanza one and two there was a shift in the main subject. The first stanza was mainly about what the soldier's country would gain with the soldiers death symbolically, he began to speak of the things his country gave him and how he feels honored to die for his country.
T: Now I think the title is more significant because it signifies how proud the man was to be a soldier, how defending his country meant so much to him and defined him.
T: I believe the theme for this poem is how being a soldier gives you honor and pride and heps you love your country. Alo, I think the theme is how being a defender of your country supports the greater good nad gives back the love your country gave to you.
http://prezi.com/2ozx556p6aml/propaganda-from-the-central-powers/
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